Who cooks and eats here: Allen Coin and me, Lisa Pepin!
See the kitchen: What It’s Like to Search for an Apartment (and a Good Kitchen) in Hanoi, Vietnam
Where: Hanoi, Vietnam
Rent or Own? Rent

By now, you’ve gotten to know my narrow Hanoi kitchen and how it’s proven to be great for day-to-day cooking. A couple weeks ago, Allen and I put it to the test by inviting our friends from Vietnam, England, Germany, and France over to cook three different dishes together. We made fresh egg and pineapple spring rolls with homemade dipping sauce, Thai red curry, and pancakes with fresh fruit and ice cream for dessert. It was delicious! Here’s a peek at the party.

READ MORE »

A good cup of coffee is an essential part of my morning, and there are many ways to achieve this necessity. Drip coffee makers, single-cup brewers, the French press. But if I had to choose just one way to make coffee, one that delivered good taste and convenience without much expense, I would have to go with the AeroPress — a strange-looking little gadget that produces a superb cup of coffee.

The AeroPress is inexpensive and so, so fast. Here’s how to use one!

READ MORE »

The kitchen is a breeding ground for things like lids, boards, and trays that are of similar size and shape, but that don’t fit or stack well in cupboards. The key, perhaps, is to stand them up instead of laying them down.

Here are five clever vertical storage solutions that look at things a little differently.

READ MORE »

Who cooks and eats here: Allen Coin and me, Lisa Pepin!
See the kitchen: What It’s Like to Search for an Apartment (and a Good Kitchen) in Hanoi, Vietnam
Where: Hanoi, Vietnam
Rent or Own? Rent

Living near a restaurant supply store is a dangerous thing. If you’re like me, you’ve gotten good at justifying buying too many loaf pans (they’re only $5!), too many little one-use tools (I can make that dessert I saw on Pinterest!), and too many cookie sheets (think of all the Christmas cookies!). My last kitchen in Raleigh, North Carolina, had all the tools I could ever want, mostly inherited from family members and former roommates or bought from that restaurant supply store. I rarely got rid of anything because I had plenty of room to store it. Moving out, I think I found six different sets of measuring spoons.

So moving continents to Hanoi, Vietnam was an opportunity to start over.

READ MORE »

The merits of making pickles, jams and tomato sauce are manifold. But the factors of reality — time, inclinations, lack of distractions and the harvest schedule — don’t often align to make massive canning sessions possible. I can what I can when I can, but when I can’t, I don’t feel guilty anymore because the freezer is my friend.

Here are five things you can easily freeze, without too much of a degradation of quality, even if you don’t have one of those fancy cryovac bag sealers. When winter hits and most indoor farmers’ markets are flooded with kale and root veggies, you’ll be pulling little bits of sunshine out of the deep freeze.

READ MORE »

When I was home in Kansas City a few weeks ago I commented on my parents’ new spice rack. I noticed it sitting on my mother’s countertop, holding just the handful of spices she uses most often.

But when I asked about it, I got a surprise — this “spice rack” was something I already owned!

READ MORE »

When your friends or family members move into a new home, you want to celebrate with them. And while you can go the practical route (cleaning supplies or pantry staples they might have tossed are always appreciated), it is also nice to warm their home with a splurge that they wouldn’t buy for themselves.

Need some ideas? Here are 12 good-for-everyone gifts that will add a touch of homey luxury to their new kitchen.

READ MORE »

This is a straightforward pasta — my favorite kind — with mostly basic pantry ingredients and a couple of things to wow it up. The breadcrumbs (poor man’s parmesan!) might seem trivial, but don’t skip them. They add a wonderful, crunchy texture that really makes the dish. So grab your can opener — this pasta is dead-simple and it will feed a crowd!

READ MORE »

Oatmeal is healthy, inexpensive, and as versatile as it gets. It’s a satisfying morning breakfast that’s filling without being too heavy. We love oatmeal because you can make a large batch but personalize each bowl to your mood or what’s in your pantry: brown sugar and cinnamon for a cold winter day, juicy stone fruit in the summer, or even cheese and a soft-poached egg for a savory twist.

Here’s everything you need to know about oatmeal, from the different varieties to tips and techniques that will help you take your oatmeal game to a whole new level! Now you have no excuse not to bring oatmeal back to the breakfast table.

READ MORE »

We’re big fans of IKEA’s kitchen cabinet system, AKURUM. It offers value, a great warranty, and modern design for a fraction of the price of custom and semi-custom cabinets. I installed AKURUM cabinets while renovating my own kitchen and have been very happy with them (see how they look).

But there have been murmurs and rumblings about the demise of AKURUM, and IKEA has officially announced the news: AKURUM will be replaced by a new kitchen system, SEKTION, starting February 2015. Read on for more details and lots of photos!

READ MORE »